ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – The Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has released its report on the PP-52 Sialkot by-election, noting only minor irregularities during the electoral process.
According to the report, a disruption occurred at one polling station where police allegedly interfered with the counting process, removing party agents and observers from the hall and taking election materials and staff with them.
The voter turnout dropped slightly from 50% in the general election to 45% in the by-election, with female turnout falling from 47% to 39%, and male turnout from 53% to 50%. FAFEN could not obtain a copy of the results from the affected polling station.
The report also highlights that the victory margin increased significantly from 8,535 votes to 39,684. Form-47 was finalized at 1:15 AM, well within the legal limit of 2:00 AM. It was also noted that the vote share for PML-N rose from 41% to 59%, while the PTI-backed independent candidate's share fell from 35% to 29%.
Additional observations included: 49% of polling booths did not follow the legal requirement of calling out voter names aloud; however, the counting process was generally orderly. Form-46 was not provided at 3% of the stations. FAFEN interviewed 31 polling agents during counting, all of whom expressed satisfaction with the process.